Whether someone pulls a hotel fire alarm in the middle of the night, his morning coffee is cold or his fantasy football team loses a key player, there’s a good chance something will set the big man off anyway.

That’s just how he rolls best.

Take, for example, his demeanour following Sunday night’s 32-28 west final win over the Edmonton Eskimos.

In a room full of jubilant teammates, there was Messam, brooding when approached by the media.

“I don’t gotta show anybody anything, I know in my heart who I am as a player and as a man and that’s all I’m going with,” spat Messam when asked about being one of the key players in a game in which he rushed 13 times for 71 yards and a gritty touchdown.

Messam’s unhappiness stemmed from what he felt were unfair questions asked all week by media members who pointed out he hadn’t eclipsed 43 yards rushing in any of his last four games of the season.

Many wondered aloud if the knee injury he’d been battling couldn’t be overcome in time for the Battle of Alberta.

Likely adding to his displeasure was the fact head coach Dave Dickenson informed the 6-foot-3, 254-pound power back he’d have to prove during practice he was healthy enough to earn a roster spot. After all, Dickenson had American running back Terry Williams waiting in the wings, who had scored three touchdowns and 127 yards rushing in his only start Sept. 24

The questions about Messam were all too familiar for a player who, like Allen Pitts before him, seems to be motivated by a feeling of being perpetually disrespected.

“I’m self-motivated — it’s irritating if anything,” said Messam of questions that have dogged him throughout his career, which has yet to include a Grey Cup ring.

“You’ve just got to deal with it. You can kind of give it back, so I kind of gave it back (Sunday) night.”

On Monday, the chip on his shoulder was replaced by a grin and a Santa hat at McMahon Stadium where he walked into a media scrum declaring, “I’m not as sulky as yesterday.”

Only then could he admit he was frustrated in the days leading up to the game.

“It’s tough, we’re pro athletes so we know it comes with the territory,” said the 32-year-old Toronto native.

“But for the most part no one knows what’s going on in-house, so people are entitled to say what they want to say — that’s the business.

“But I feel like we’re all human. We all read the headlines and we all have emotions too. A little bit of that came out (Sunday) night. You’re always going to have criticism so you have to be able to handle it.”

As a Stampeder, he seems to somehow thrive on it, bottle it and release it in a furious fashion defenders have a hard time handling.

On Sunday, in a game that included the two premier quarterbacks in the CFL, Messam rebounded with a running attack alongside Roy Finch that was the clear difference in the game.

On Sunday against the Argos, you can bet he’ll have to play a similarly important role if he is to claim his first championship in an eight-year CFL career. Along the way he’s made stops in B.C., Edmonton, Montreal and Saskatchewan before a trade to Calgary led to his first rushing title last year.

He would have won another title this year had he not missed a game due to injury before being used so sparingly in meaningless matches down the stretch.

“He certainly was one of our best players,” said Dickenson of Messam’s season, which saw him finish third in CFL rushing with 1016 yards, just 19 behind Winnipeg’s league-leading Andrew Harris.

“He’s unselfish, as you saw. I took him out of a lot of games and you never heard a peep.”

He relished in sharing the running duties with pint-sized Finch on Sunday, effectively keeping the Eskimos off balance all afternoon.

Expect more of that in Sunday’s Grey Cup, which is fine with Messam, who has been known to be far more temperamental in other cities he’s played in.

Prior to the West final he told Bo Levi Mitchell he loved him, while encouraging him before the game.

Love or hate, Messam always seems to carry with his sizeable frame an array of emotions that may just power him to being the most important player in Sunday’s final tilt.

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